K-9 Search & Rescue

Formation of the Team

The Shreveport Fire Department Search and Rescue Task Force was formed and founded under the direction of Captain Kerry W. Foster. The K-9 team was formed and became operational around 2001, with five dog teams. Members of this team donated their time and expertise to bring to the community and the department a quality group of handlers and dogs that meet a variety of needs for our community.

Duties & Skills

The team assists law enforcement agencies with the search and detection of human remains, missing persons, and many more. There are two dogs that are dedicated to the detection of live persons only. Their skills are the backbone of the team, which is disaster response. Whether it is a collapsed building or a horrific storm, these dogs will search and locate only those persons that are still alive. They also serve the team in wilderness searches where many acres of land might need to be covered.

One of our dogs has worked with groups in historical detection, assisting agencies with historical grave sites, battle fields, and other areas where aged human remains might be resting.

Finally, there are two bloodhounds, that complete our team capabilities. These dogs primarily respond to find the child that has wandered away or the elderly person who has wandered off and cannot be found. Trained in the urban environment, these dogs are capable of following the path of these individuals through busy city streets, crowds, and traffic that comes with such an environment.

Training

Since early 2000, the team has worked over 150 events in East Texas, North and South Louisiana, South Arkansas, and Charleston, South Carolina. Our team regularly trains in the community. At festivals, walking the downtown streets, or even visiting the schools, this team has to expose the dogs to such an environment so when the time comes for the dogs to perform their duties, they will not be afraid of such things as traffic, loud noises, and multiple things happening around them. They are not allowed any aggression and are trained to very calm and gentle.